344 
New Zealand Ferns 
( 141 ) f ar. alpina ( alpine). Smaller and more com- 
pactly tufted ; 2 to 12 inches high ; midribs, young shoots, 
and under surface of leaves clothed densely with rusty- 
coloured scales and wool. Fronds much smaller and 
more sparingly divided. 
Mountainous localities from Cape Colville and Roto- 
rua southwards, ascending to 4,000 feet. Also in Tas- 
mania. 
The distinguishing features of the preceding Glci- 
chenias are not easily described — circinata, dicarpa, 
liccistophylla — especially the last two. Circinata , when 
growing in the shade of light scrub near Auckland, is a 
very distinct plant, the leaflets open — five, six or seven 
to the inch — shining green above, light green and quite 
flat beneath. Hccistophylla from a similar station is 
somewhat smaller, the stalks and midribs more woolly 
and scaly, the leaflets closer — eight to ten per inch — 
straighter, dull green above, whitish and concave be- 
neath, but often flat when growing in the shade. When 
growing in the direct sunlight it is usually from 6 
inches to 2 feet high, closely matted together, the under- 
side of the segments as much curved over as in dicarpa , 
but never so much as to hide the seeds — two to a pocket. 
Dicarpa is very similar to hccistophylla, but longer 
in the leaflets, which are spaced eight to ten per 
inch. The bead-like appearance of the segments when 
viewed from above give the leaves a slightly glistening 
appearance. The stalks and midribs are less woolly 
and scaly, the angles of divergence a little more acute. 
